Animal cruelty cases sadly common for Vance shelter

The caller, who asked to remain anonymous, said some kids were responsible, but she didn't offer any names.

Cases of animal cruelty are all too common in Vance County, shelter chief Frankie Nobles said Friday, pointing to the 20 dogs in his care being held as evidence in recent cases.

"It’s really frustrating for our officers to do their jobs, and then when we do end up in court it doesn’t have the best outcome," Nobles said.

The "cure" for the dog Nobles decided to call Sadie was easy. Workers bathed her eyes gently and repeatedly until the glue came loose.

"Sadie’s eyes were pretty much completely closed," Nobles said. "My officer brought her in and immediately gave her a bath and got one eye completely open. Her left eye stayed somewhat shut. The next morning, we brought her up gave her another bath with warm water, warm compresses, and we’ve got both eyes open. As of now, she’s doing very well."

The Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society will step in next to find Sadie a home.

Nobels said no one has come forward to claim the dog or to point the finger of blame at the people responsible for her plight.

"Nobody is giving us any information on Sadie," he said. "Nobody wants to get in trouble."

The culprits, no matter how young, would almost definitely face a charge of animal cruelty, Nobles said.

"She’s an adorable little dog," he added. "I don’t know how anybody could do something like this."